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Monday, September 20, 2010

Weekly Report (a light week and a cemetery)

This past week, we really only had about a third of the usual academic work. Then there were days that I call "Life Skills Days" in which we cleaned out and reorganized Cullen's drawers, closet and various piles of stuff.

While there isn't much to report as far as school work goes, other than we made a bit of progress in the usual subjects, we did have a memorable, impromptu outing. Finding ourselves near the Marietta National Cemetery with a little time to spare before an appointment, we drove in, parked, then walked around to explore. There are veterans buried here from the Union Forces during the Civil War and from just about every war since then. Near a beautiful marble pavilion at the top of the hill is a section of closely placed stones in memory of those whose remains never made it home from World War II. One of these is for my grandmother's brother, George E. Walker, who was held as a prisoner of War for some time, then lost at sea. His stone is in the first row facing the walkway. I was surprised at how easily we found it.

Cullen was in quiet awe at the sheer number of graves. He made a point to read as many of their names as he could when we passed by. We have yet to study a war with any detail, expecting to get to the Civil War in our curriculum either late this year or next fall. While I want to be careful not to overwhelm him with too much detail for his age, I would very much like for him to understand that war is nothing like the video games portray - that there are real people, real families affected in terrible ways. In learning about someone in our own family who was lost and terribly missed, I think he understood just a little bit better.

We also found ourselves at the Marietta National Cemetery last year when we stayed near Atlanta. We were actually there on the Condederate Memorial Day. Since we are from the North, we had no idea such a day even existed. With boys that also love video games, I also try to impress upon them the sacrifice that so many have made for our country. We've been very fortunate in our travels to meet some incredible veteran's that have shared the 'other side' of battle so to speak. They've honestly shared some of the struggles that they've faced in their lives following their days of service. War and the loss of life that ensues is never a pretty thing and certainly not something to be taken lightly.

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Worth the click!

My cousin and friend, Jamie, whose blog is a really fun place, is featuring adoption stories from time to time. Whether you have adopted, are considering it or even if you know it's not for you, these are moving and inspiring stories.

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Wise Words

"Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each." ~Plato

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

Of all the joyous motives of school life, the love of knowledge is the only abiding one; the only one which determines the scale, so to speak, upon which the person will hereafter live.